Research has shown that the liquids dripping from poultry are a focal point of bacterial spoilage within packaged fresh meat and other poultry products. The growth of micro-orgaisms, particularly bacteria and yeast, occurs at a very rapid rate in such exuded fluids. The exudate is objectionable from an appearance standpoint, and moreover, the packed meat rapidly becomes objectionable because of odor and yeast growth even though the meat, itself, may be in a normal wholesome condition. Consequently, although the meat, itself, may be wholesome and acceptable, the fluid exuded from the meat and contained within the package will cause the whole package of meat or poultry to be unsellable.
It is very important in the display and sale of packaged poultry and pre-cut meats that the package present a clean and wholesome appearance. The problem of maintaining such a clean and wholesome appearance is greatly aggravated by the fact that, as stated above, many meats, particularly pre-cut meats and poultry, exude moisture containing suspended solids which cause the package to appear unclean. Further problems arise in that this exudate often evaporates or is absorbed in the packaging materials and then the suspended solids may be deposited on the food product and/or on the package. Accordingly, it is desireable from both a health and an aesthetic standpoint to remove the purge juices not only from the vicinity of the packaged product but also completely from view.
It has been conventional practice to display meat, poultry, and other food products in individual packages which comprise a supporting tray with an absorbent pad of tissue-like paper wadding in the bottom of the tray to absorb any juices or liquids exuded from the food product. A transparent outer plastic wrapping is also usually employed to cover and totally surround the package. A major problem associated with packages of this sort, as stated above, is the fact that the exuded liquids support the rapid growth of bacteria. In many cases the bacteria migrate from the absorbent pad back to the food product itself and result in the spoilage and discoloration of the food product. Such spoilage and discoloration quickly renders the food product unsuitable for sale.
In an effort to alleviate the above problems, and to extend the shelf-life of such food products, it has previously been proposed to employ an absorbent pad in the package which includes an imperforate plastic film positioned above a layer of absorptive wadding in such manner that the plastic film acts to retard the reverse migration of the liquids from the absorbent wadding back to the food product. Also, it has been previously proposed to position a non-absorptive barrier above the absorbent material for this purpose, note U.S. Pat. No. 3,026,209 to Niblack et al. While the above package constructions do provide a spacial relationship between the exuded liquids in the pad and the food product, they nevertheless still permit the substantial migration of bacteria back to the food product and are thus not totally satisfactory.
Another proposal in this area is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,321,997 and 4,275,811 both to A. H. Miller. U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,811 discloses an absorbent pad which comprises a mat of liquid absorbent material, an imperforate, liquid impermeable upper sheet overlying and covering the mat of absorbent material, and a bottom sheet of liquid impermeable material underlying the mat. The peripheral edges of the upper and bottom sheets are sealed together to enclose the mat of absorbent material therebetween, and the bottom sheet includes a plurality of openings which permit passage of a liquid into the absorbent material so that the liquid is held, by the mat, out of contact with the food product.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,997 essentially deals with an improvement on the structure disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,811 patent wherein the improvement includes spacer means disposed between the two sheets of material thereby maintaining the separation of the sheets under the compressive load exerted by food products or the like resting thereon. Utilization of the spacer means minimizes the compression of the mat by the food product and thus increases the ability of the mat to absorb and retain liquids while subjected to such a load.
While the inventions disclosed in the patents to Miller have resulted in advancements within the present field, a fundamental problem in this area continues to persist. This fundamental problem is the labor cost involved in inserting any type of pad into a tray. This cost encompasses not only the labor cost but, alternatively, the cost of purchasing and maintaining a machine which is adapted to place pads in each tray. A machine of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,823 to Currie. Of course, an additional intrinsic cost is the cost of the pad itself.